The driver fled the scene of the accident liability

Leaving the scene of an accident is a punishment in 2019

An accident is a nuisance from which no driver is insured. Traffic rules regulate the actions of a driver who is involved in a traffic accident and oblige him to take the necessary measures, including providing assistance to victims. If the instructions are not followed, the consequences may be unfavorable for the driver.

For leaving the scene of an accident, punishment is provided for in Article 12.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. The second part of this article describes in detail what happens when, in a state of shock or on purpose, a driver leaves the scene of an accident. If you leave the scene of an accident, the driver may be subject to one of the following penalties in 2019:

After fleeing the scene of an accident, the punishment is deprivation of the right to drive a vehicle for a period of 1-1.5 years;
or
Administrative arrest for 15 days.

If you are wondering what the fine is for this, then you should know that the current legislation does not indicate that the driver must pay a fine for driving away after an accident without stopping and without checking to see if there were injuries or property damage.

When leaving the scene of an accident for a legal or illegal reason, as well as being an innocent person, it is important to remember that without documentary evidence of the incident there is a high probability of:

be found at fault for the accident;
answer administratively for leaving the scene of an accident;
compensation for damage to the car, for moral damage caused, as well as for damage to health, up to lifelong recourse.

To avoid this, it is better to stay at the scene of the accident and, if possible, hire a lawyer who will arrive at the scene of the accident to monitor the correctness of the paperwork and give useful advice.

What is the basis for punishment?

The extent of liability is determined in court. The basis for considering a case in court is a protocol drawn up by traffic police officers. Evidence of guilt can be the testimony of witnesses, eyewitnesses, video from digital media (dash cams, traffic cameras). In 95% of cases, accidents are solved by investigators, and the culprit is found.

Often, in a state of shock, when a person leaves the scene of an accident, he drinks. Clause 2.7 of the traffic rules indicates the prohibition of taking alcoholic beverages, narcotic, psychotropic or any other drugs until the examination is completed. Such violations only aggravate the situation and may result in additional penalties in the form of a fine for drunk driving.

What terms are acceptable for punishment?

In cases where a person leaves the scene of an accident irrevocably, hides from responsibility, there are exceptions to the rules that remain unpunished. These exceptions include an expired statute of limitations. The completed departure from the scene of the accident is recorded by the traffic police, after which they begin interviewing witnesses to find the offender. For search work, bringing charges against the culprit who did not remain at the scene of the accident, in accordance with Art. 4.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation is given 90 days (3 months). After the statute of limitations has expired, it is illegal to bring any charges against the driver and draw up an administrative offense resolution in his name.

When is the driver responsible?

If a person driving a car that was involved in a traffic accident leaves the scene for reasons that are not listed in the traffic rules, his actions are regarded as a crime. For leaving the scene of an accident in 2019, persons who fled in a car in such situations, even if they are not the owners of the vehicle, bear full responsibility.

Leaving the scene of an accident is not justified even if the driver is in a hurry to get to a flight, meeting or other events, even if he stopped and left his data, coordinates, contact numbers, and business card.

By not remaining at the scene of the accident, a person can affect the mitigation of liability. This requires a confession, assistance in the investigation, and voluntary compensation for damage. Partial justification for the fact that a person did not stay at the scene of an accident can be a serious mental state, being a minor, or being pregnant.

In what cases is liability not provided?

There are situations when the driver is not responsible for not stopping or leaving the scene of the accident. Such situations include the following situations.

When an accident occurred, but the drivers were able to come to an agreement, they have no claims against each other regarding the circumstances that occurred. You can leave the scene of the accident if there are no casualties in the incident. In such a situation, it is advisable to draw up a diagram of the arrangement of cars after the accident at the scene of an accident, indicate on the diagram the road markings, street names, house numbers, road signs and other important information. Each driver must have a diagram signed by both parties involved in the accident. Driving away from an accident will be legally correct if both drivers go to the nearest traffic police station, where they draw up documents.

When, at the scene of the accident, the drivers mutually decided to file an accident according to the European protocol (filling out a notification of an accident, which the insurer will rely on). Under MTPL, such a procedure is allowed when only 2 cars, the owners of which have a valid MTPL policy, were damaged at the scene of an accident. There should be no people injured or injured at the scene of the incident. In this case, leaving the scene of the accident is possible, and the drivers should not have any claims against each other, and the nature of the damage should be agreed upon.

Often in court, the driver is justified by the fact that he was forced to leave the scene of an accident in order to deliver the victim of an accident or collision to the hospital. In this case, having left the scene of the incident, the driver is obliged to return after the person is taken to a medical facility for emergency assistance. Before leaving, it is important to document (indicate on the diagram) the position of the car on a video or photo camera. At the scene of an accident, objects should be left in the position in which they were after the accident. To prevent them from interfering with other traffic participants, according to clause 2.5 of the traffic rules, it is necessary to provide a detour for transport.

It is not considered a crime punishable under Art. 12.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, when a vehicle responsible for or involved in an accident is removed from the road in order to clear the roadway for traffic flow, but the driver himself remains in place. Before removing a car, its location must be described in a document or recorded in any other way. It is undesirable to move when there are no eyewitnesses to the accident, and also when the drivers have disagreements regarding the guilt and causes of the accident.

Having left the scene of an accident in other situations, the driver will be charged with leaving the scene and punished in accordance with the law. When the driver leaves the scene of an accident, only after the investigation is it determined whether there is a crime or its absence for the reasons provided for by the Traffic Rules. The final verdict on whether the driver’s actions were lawful or unlawful, and what the punishment for leaving the scene of an accident will be, is determined by the court.

Knowing whether it is possible to leave in the event of an accident and in which specific cases liability does not arise for leaving the scene of an accident without authorization, you can avoid punishments and deprivation of rights.

What does a driver face if he fled the scene of an accident: fine, liability

Even the most disciplined and law-abiding driver in the first minutes after an accident, especially a serious one, will have a thought: “Should I drive away from the scene of the accident, in case they don’t get caught?” Some, in a state of emotional turmoil, implement this risky plan into reality. What are the risks and is it possible to avoid punishment? Let's figure it out.

The thought of fleeing the scene of an accident occurs to many drivers, especially if other cars and people were seriously injured due to their fault.

Road accidents, as defined by the Road Traffic Rules, include events that occur with the participation of a vehicle and cause damage to cars, cargo, structures, and cause harm to the health and life of people. The obligation to remain at the scene of a road incident for all drivers - both the perpetrators and the victims - is established by the Russian Traffic Regulations.

According to the traffic rules, after an accident occurs, its participants must take a number of measures , such as:

take care of the victims (provide emergency assistance, call a medical team, take them to the hospital);
record the circumstances of the accident by photographing/videoing and drawing up a diagram;
clear the road of cars so as not to impede traffic;
find witnesses and record their contact information;
call the police or agree with other participants in the car accident to independently resolve the conflict, draw up a European protocol.

If the driver leaves without complying with these requirements, he will face inevitable punishment.

Why do motorists flee the scene of an accident?

Drivers leave the scene of an accident for various reasons:

Intentionally leaving the scene of an accident

Most often, those involved in an accident try to escape because they hope to avoid responsibility for the traffic violations they committed, damage to property, and harm to the health and lives of people. This mistake is especially often made by those responsible for accidents who are intoxicated.

Unintentionally leaving the scene of an accident

It is not always the case that a driver fleeing the scene of an accident wants to escape responsibility.

Sometimes the culprit of an accident simply does not notice that he damaged someone else’s car.

For example, when leaving a parking lot, it hits the bumper or mirror of a nearby car and scratches the body. The owner of the damaged car is not nearby, the alarm does not work. The guilty driver does not notice that he has damaged someone else’s property and goes about his business with a calm soul. Another situation is also possible. After the accident, the drivers agreed to resolve the conflict without involving the insurance company and the traffic police, exchanged phone numbers and parted ways. But one of them, after some time, came to the scene of the accident again and called the police. The second one was automatically considered to have fled the place where the road incident occurred.

When the accident is not serious, the driver can leave the scene of the accident without noticing the damage caused to someone else’s car

If the driver left the scene of the accident without malicious intent and can prove it, then it is likely that the court will acquit him.

How will they punish a driver who left the scene of an accident without injury or death?

In paragraph 2 of Article 12.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, we read that a driver who does not remain on the spot after a traffic accident that does not contain signs of a criminal offense is deprived of the right to drive a car and other vehicles for 1-1.5 years. He may also be arrested, the period of arrest will be a maximum of 15 days.

How will a driver who leaves the scene of an accident with dead/injured be punished?

If people were injured or killed in a car accident, then the punishment for it is no longer established by the Code of Administrative Offenses, but by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Article 264). In this case, leaving the scene of the accident will be regarded as an aggravating circumstance, equivalent to being behind the wheel while intoxicated. You can see the penalties in the table.

will be sent to perform forced labor. Maximum period – 3 years

deprived of freedom. Maximum term – 4 years

In both cases, the person responsible for the accident is prohibited from working in certain positions or performing a number of activities for up to 3 years.

imprisoned for 2-7 years;
will be banned for up to 3 years from working in a number of positions or carrying out certain types of activities.

imprisoned for 4-9 years;
will be banned for up to 3 years from working in a number of positions or carrying out certain types of activities.

How is the punishment given?

A traffic police inspector may issue a fine for failure to perform actions related to an accident in the amount of 1,000 rubles. Decisions on all other types of punishment (forced labor, deprivation of a driver's license, arrest) are made only in court.

A negligent driver's license can only be revoked through court

As for the terms of sentencing, they are as follows:

no more than 2 months are given to obtain a decision in administrative cases (Article 4.5 of the Administrative Code);
3 months are allocated to obtain a court order and punish the culprit;
the decision on the offense (Article 12.8 and Article 12.24 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation) must be issued within 1 year.

When should you leave the scene of an accident?

if a car accident is registered without the participation of the traffic police - after drawing up a European protocol and transferring it to the nearest police department or traffic police post;
if a car accident is registered with the participation of the traffic police - after drawing up and signing a protocol on an accident , a protocol on an administrative offense. Law enforcement officers can detain a participant in a traffic conflict. The grounds for this may be, for example, the driver’s lack of documents, his potential danger to surrounding people, etc. Part 1 of Article 27.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses establishes the maximum period of administrative detention. Participants in an accident cannot be forced to remain at the scene of the accident for more than 3 hours from the moment the traffic police are notified of the traffic accident.

If people are seriously injured in an accident, the participant in the accident can take them to a medical facility in a personal car. He must immediately report the traffic incident to the traffic police or the police and, after handing over the victim to medical workers, immediately return to where the accident occurred. If this is not done, the driver may be considered to have fled the scene of the offense.

Can a driver who leaves the scene of an accident go unpunished?

If the scene of the accident was left unintentionally and the culprit manages to prove this, for example, using recordings from surveillance cameras or testimony of witnesses, then the court may rule in favor of the driver.

You can also avoid punishment if the culprit of the accident has compelling reasons to leave the scene of the accident. For example, he was transporting a seriously ill person to the hospital and, having had an accident, did not stop to carry out the actions prescribed by the traffic rules. But if the driver did the same thing, being late for a meeting or to the airport, this will not be considered a valid reason, since there was no threat to human life.

Thus, in order to avoid punishment, it is necessary to prove to the court that the driver left the scene of the car accident without malicious intent.

What is the statute of limitations for leaving the scene of an accident?

Article 4.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation states that the decision on the punishment for administrative offenses must be made within up to 3 months . If during this time the judicial authorities have not issued a ruling on arrest, deprivation of rights, or assignment to forced labor, sanctions for disappearing from the scene of an accident will no longer follow.

But you need to remember that even after 3 months, the injured party can demand compensation from the driver for the damage that was caused to her as a result of the car accident. The deadline for filing a claim in court, according to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (Article 196), is 3 years from the date of the incident . And if there are injuries or deaths as a result of an accident, the statute of limitations for criminal cases applies - from 2 to 15 years, depending on the severity of the crime (Article 78 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

In an attempt to avoid responsibility by leaving the scene of an accident, most drivers only increase their punishment.

Leaving the scene of an accident is a big mistake. It is almost impossible to remain unpunished today, when CCTV cameras are installed almost everywhere and cars are equipped with GLONASS systems. Therefore, flight will only aggravate the punishment that awaits the culprit of the accident. Remember this and follow traffic rules and laws.

Fine for leaving the scene of an accident

What is the fine for leaving the scene of an accident? Current fines in this article from the specialists of the website “Traffic Police Fines”.

The traffic police fine for leaving the scene of an accident in 2019 is:

Article 12.27.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation

The law of the Russian Federation clearly states the driver’s responsibility for leaving the scene of an accident. A driver who leaves the scene of a road accident may, by law, lose his driver’s license or be subject to arrest for up to 15 days.

Leaving the scene of an accident has serious consequences. A significant proportion of motorists leave the scene of an accident due to inattention.

These measures are provided for in Part 2 of Article 12.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation - “Failure to fulfill duties in connection with a traffic accident.”

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Leaving the scene of a traffic accident by the driver in violation of the Traffic Rules

of which he was a participant - entails deprivation of the right to drive vehicles for a period of one to one and a half years or administrative arrest for a period of up to fifteen days.

What is the penalty for leaving the scene of an accident?

First, let’s figure out which incidents are legally classified as road accidents. What is a traffic accident?

Clause 1.2 of the traffic rules :
“Road accident” is an event that occurred during the movement of a vehicle on the road and with its participation, in which people were killed or injured, vehicles, structures, cargo were damaged, or other material damage was caused.

That is, road accidents include: collisions of two cars, collision of a car with a pedestrian(s), collision of a car with any foreign object. The important point is that the incident described must occur on the road.

Theoretically, even a scratch from a branch, a chip from a stone on the windshield, a flat tire, or falling into a large pothole can be classified as an accident. However, the traffic police does not punish for leaving the scene of such accidents, since only your personal property was damaged in them.

In 2019, for leaving the scene of an accident, the right to drive a car is deprived for a period of one to one and a half years or arrested for up to 15 days.

The statistics of court decisions is such that the most common punishment for leaving an accident is deprivation of rights. But it is worth considering that the inspector does not have the right to impose a punishment; the punishment and its severity are determined by the court.

When making a decision, the judge takes into account:

The primacy of the crime
The presence of malicious intent.

Often, drivers leave the scene of an accident because they were intoxicated at the time of the accident and thus try to avoid punishment. In addition, the judge will be especially strict when sentencing if the driver leaves the scene of an accident not for the first time.

Another common reason for leaving a date's place is simple inattention. One of the drivers in the hustle and bustle of a traffic jam may simply not notice the contact of a personal car with a foreign object. It even happens that the driver stops, but is too far from the scene of the accident.

This situation is not uncommon now. Motorists agree on the details of resolving the consequences of an accident verbally, drive away, and then one of the drivers, under pressure from others, announces the accident to the traffic police. Since there are no papers confirming the achievement of a peaceful agreement between the parties, the second participant is recognized as having left the scene of the accident without permission.

Fine for leaving the scene of an accident without injuries

Regardless of the presence of victims, the penalty for leaving the scene of an accident is the same: arrest for up to 15 days or deprivation of the right to drive a car for a period of one to one and a half years.

N 40-FZ “ On compulsory insurance of civil liability of vehicle owners .”

However, punishment can be avoided in several cases. You will not be fined for leaving the scene of an accident without injuries if:

As a result of the accident, there are no injuries, the amount of damage is small or practically absent, there are no claims from all parties involved in the accident. In this case, all participants in the accident can leave “in peace.” Hint: Even with this outcome of the situation, we recommend obtaining written confirmation from the participants in the incident that there are no claims on their part.
As a result of the accident, there were no injuries, no more than two cars were involved and they are insured under MTPL, the amount of damage is no more than 100,000 rubles,

In this case, the participants in the accident fill out and sign the notification of the accident on the spot - they draw up a European protocol. (Federal Law “On compulsory civil liability insurance of vehicle owners.” Hint: Even if not all drivers agree on who is at fault, the fine can be issued according to the European protocol.

In all other cases, leaving the scene of an accident will incur penalties: deprivation of rights or arrest for up to 15 days .

When will leaving the scene of an accident be unpunished?

Traffic police inspectors do not punish for leaving the scene of an accident only if the accident can be registered according to the European protocol, or if there are no victims and all participants in the accident admit that they have no claims against all participants in the incident. The second case is interpreted by the drivers themselves as the absence of an accident, because according to the law, an accident is an incident in which there are victims - cars, people, third-party objects.

Separately, it is worth paying attention to situations where drivers, trying to help victims of an accident, become guilty of a violation - they are held administratively liable for leaving the scene of an accident. Even if the driver left the scene of an accident for a very important and valid reason, he is obliged to return to the scene of the accident, otherwise he will be deprived of his license or arrested for up to 15 days.

Statute of limitations for leaving the scene of an accident

According to the Administrative Code, the statute of limitations for leaving the scene of an accident is 3 months. Those. If within three months the culprit has not been held accountable for leaving the scene of an accident, he will not be held accountable in the future.

Article 4.5. Limitation period for administrative liability

"1. A decision in a case of an administrative offense cannot be made after two months (in a case of an administrative offense considered by a judge - after three months) from the date of commission of the administrative offense for violation of the law..”

Unintentionally leaving the scene of an accident

It’s not a rare situation when a careless and inattentive driver is called to court: it turns out that he hit someone’s car while parking on one of the streets. The scratch is insignificant, but the victim, in search of truth and justice, went to court, and now the careless driver faces deprivation of his license.

How could this happen?

Everything is very simple. Even if the culprit of the accident did not know that he accidentally hit someone’s car, according to the law he is a violator - he unknowingly left the scene of the accident.

And the victim, seeing that someone scratched his car, seeks justice and compensation: he turns to the authorities to find the culprit. Police officers use their powers to find the culprit: they watch camera footage and interview witnesses.

The saddest thing in this situation is that the process does not have retroactive effect: even if the culprit confesses and is ready to compensate for the damage, he will still face trial and deprivation of rights “looms” in the near future.

Important: Even for unintentionally leaving the scene of an accident, you will be deprived of your license or arrested for up to 15 days.

What is the penalty for fleeing the scene of an accident?

A road accident is a stressful situation for everyone involved. And each participant in the incident can behave differently - obediently await the arrival of the traffic police officers, blame other participants for the accident, or panic and hastily leave the scene of the accident.

Hiding from the scene of an accident

The driver who caused the accident and fled the scene of the accident does this in various situations:

Wanting to avoid liability for an accident after causing damage to a stationary vehicle. During an accident where the vehicle is only slightly damaged and the owner is not inside, the at-fault driver may attempt to flee the scene, hoping to avoid being noticed and apprehended.
Wanting to avoid liability for hitting a pedestrian. If a car was driving at low speed and hit a pedestrian without causing him severe harm, then the driver of this vehicle can flee the scene, hoping that the injured person did not remember the license plate number of the car and will not turn to law enforcement agencies to punish the culprit.
Leaving the scene for your own purposes, without noticing that a traffic accident has occurred.

Why you shouldn't leave the scene of an accident

The driver who caused the accident is not recommended to leave the scene for several reasons:

By remaining at the scene of the accident, you can provide medical assistance to the victim, saving his life.
Hiding from the scene of an accident is an indirect admission of guilt.
By remaining at the scene of the accident and agreeing with your guilt, you can hope for a mitigation of the punishment that will be chosen by the court.

Damage when leaving the scene of an accident

An accident results in various types of damage. It can be of two types: material (damaged to the car) and physical (damaged to the health of the participant in the accident). In each case, the injured party has the right to compensation for the damage received if the accident that occurred is documented (there is a traffic police report, a medical certificate about the state of health, a car service report on diagnosing the condition of the car after the accident).

If the victim has valid insurance, the amount of damage received will be compensated by the insurance company. If there is no insurance, then you can receive compensation for damage from the person at fault - this will be possible only after a trial, with the issuance of an appropriate court decision.

Responsibility for fleeing the scene of an accident

What is the penalty for fleeing the scene of an accident? The legislation provides for administrative and criminal penalties. The court's choice of punishment depends on a number of circumstances surrounding the accident.

A driver who leaves the scene of an accident who is at fault in an accident that does not result in death or serious bodily injury will be subject to administrative sanctions. They will be in the form of either a fine for fleeing the scene of an accident, or arrest for a period prescribed by law (provided by the Administrative Code).

If the driver fled the scene of the accident and left the victim with minor injuries, then the following sanctions will be applied to him, provided for in Art. 125 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

12 months imprisonment;
90 days of arrest;
12 months of forced labor;
12 months of correctional labor;
360 hours of compulsory work;
confiscation of wages in an amount equal to the six-month salary of the perpetrator;
80 thousand rubles.

If the culprit fled from the scene of the accident, leaving the victim with serious injuries, then the punishment provided for in Article 264 of the Criminal Code of Russia will be applied to him. The punishment will be as follows:

If the guilty person was sober. At the judge's choice - three years of imprisonment, two years of forced labor, 6 months of arrest, two years of imprisonment and a ban on holding high positions for three years.
If the person at fault was drunk. At the judge's choice - 4 years of imprisonment, three years of forced labor with a ban on holding a high position for three years.
If the guilty person was sober, but the accident resulted in death. At the judge's choice - 4 years of forced labor, 5 years of imprisonment.
If the guilty person was drunk, but the result of an accident was fatal. From 2 to 7 years of imprisonment and a ban on holding high positions for three years.

When can you leave the scene of an accident?

There are several situations in which a participant in an accident who caused an accident is allowed to leave the scene of the accident:

none of the participants in the accident received serious harm or moderate injuries, and the damage to the victim’s car will not amount to more than 25 thousand rubles;
the car with the traffic police officers did not arrive at the scene of the incident for a long time in order to draw up a report and identify the culprit, or did not show up at all;
the participants in the accident independently assessed the circumstances of the accident, drew up and formalized a diagram of the incident - then one participant went to the nearest police station or traffic police post, and the second (guilty) party left the scene of the accident;
the culprit urgently delivers the victim in his vehicle to the nearest medical facility - after delivering the person to the clinic and handing him over to the medical staff, the driver is obliged to return to the scene of the accident;
the culprit moves his car from the scene of the accident in order to free up the road lane for the movement of other cars - this is allowed to be done after photographing in the presence of witnesses the initial position of the vehicle at the time of the accident (this information will help the traffic police inspector draw up a report of the incident).

What to do if you fled the scene of an accident

Every citizen who unwittingly becomes a participant in an accident (perpetrator or victim) may face a situation where the driver who caused the accident disappears from the scene of the accident. How to behave in this situation? The line of behavior depends on the side (guilty or victim) in which a particular citizen finds himself.

What should the driver of the damaged car do?

A driver who finds himself in a situation where his car is involved in an accident due to the fault of others, and the at-fault driver fled the scene, will need to take the following steps:

designate the location of the accident - install an emergency stop sign and turn on the “emergency flashing” in the car;
make sure that no unauthorized person moves objects or machines related to the accident from one place to another;
take photographs (with a camera, phone) from the scene of the accident, draw a diagram of the accident (if the car has a blank sheet of paper and a pen or pencil);
call a traffic police inspector to the scene of the incident by telephone;
look for witnesses to the accident (if there are such persons) - the testimony of witnesses (verbal, written, on a video recorder) is strong evidence of the innocence of the victim and the guilt of the person who caused the accident;
record the scale of the accident and the extent of the damage received - this can be done through a photograph, a medical examination report (if the victim has bodily injuries), an entry in the protocol drawn up by the traffic police inspector;
concentrate and remember the maximum number of details related to the accident - the appearance of the culprit driver, information about the culprit’s car (license plate, make and color of the car).

What should a driver at fault in an accident do?

The driver who has committed an accident and left the scene of the accident should remember that such actions will only serve to increase punishment in the form of fines and deprivation of rights for fleeing the scene of an accident. To mitigate the possible punishment, such a driver will need to do the following:

Return to the scene of the accident.
Provide first aid to a citizen injured in an accident (if there is one and needs it). Call an ambulance (if necessary). Deliver the victim to a medical facility - if the victim requires urgent, qualified medical care.
Provide as much information as possible about the accident to the traffic police officer (verbal description of what happened, video from the dashcam).

Unintentionally leaving the scene of an accident

Unintentional leaving the scene of an accident is the departure of the driver for any reason due to which he did not notice the accident. The reasons may be as follows:

absence of any road signs;
loud music in the car, distracting the driver’s attention;
low level of visibility on the road (snowfall, rain, fog, night time).

Reference . What is the punishment for unintentionally fleeing the scene of an accident? The punishment is provided for by the administrative code of the Russian Federation (Federal Law No. 195 of December 30, 2001). Article 12.27 (clause 2) provides for punishment in the form of deprivation of a driver’s license for a period of 12-18 months or administrative arrest for 15 days.

Clause 2, Article 3.9, Federal Law No. 195 establishes that administrative arrest is not imposed on several categories of citizens:

pregnant women;
women with children under 14 years of age;
disabled people of groups 2 and 1;
citizens under the age of majority;
law enforcement officers (military, police).

To the citizens listed in paragraph 2, art. 3.9 of the Administrative Code, a different type of punishment is applied, provided for in paragraph 1 of the mentioned article. This will mean deprivation of a driver's license for 18 months and a fine of 1 thousand rubles.

Each participant in an accident has the right to count on payments from the insurance company under the current insurance. For this to happen, both parties must wait for the traffic police officers and sign the protocol they drew up.

If the culprit left the scene of the accident before drawing up the report and without having valid grounds for doing so, then the insurance company has the right to apply penalties to the mentioned person as provided for in the clause of the rules on compulsory motor liability insurance. Subparagraph “d”, paragraph 1, Article 14 of Federal Law No. 40 of April 25, 2002, allows the insurance company to demand compensation from the person responsible for the accident and who fled the scene of the accident for the amount of payments made by the insurer in favor of injured citizens.

Help from car lawyers

Participants in an accident where the guilty party fled the scene will need the help of a car lawyer in several cases:

the culprit wants to avoid responsibility or minimize responsibility as much as possible for fleeing the scene of an accident;
the culprit wishes to restore the selected driver’s license in the shortest possible time;
if the accused of fleeing the scene of an accident wants to avoid the maximum penalty by proving that he did it unintentionally;
it is necessary to appeal the verdict of the court of first instance in the case of fleeing the scene of an accident to a higher judicial authority;
you need to build a line of defense for the upcoming court hearings;
the victim, who does not have insurance, wants to receive compensation from the perpetrator for the damage suffered.

You can use the help of traffic lawyers online or during a face-to-face meeting. To order the service of a car lawyer, you will need to visit our office in St. Petersburg or call a lawyer by phone.

Leaving the scene of an accident by a driver in which he is a participant - punishment and consequences

Situations where a driver leaves the scene of an accident occur quite often on Russian roads. Everyone knows that you can pay for such actions, especially if there is not only property damage as a result of the accident, but also injured citizens. Despite this, people leave for various reasons. Some explain their actions as a state of shock, others as a special rush, and still others as a desire to evade responsibility.

Driver's responsibility

When does it come?

If the driver left the scene of an accident for reasons not provided for in the traffic rules, his actions will be regarded as a criminal act. Any guilty person driving a vehicle is held accountable for it, regardless of whether the car is his property or not.

Leaving due to a rush for a flight, an important business meeting or other event is unjustified, even if you leave your contact information, location coordinates and other information.

The driver can influence the mitigation of the punishment by:

confession to law enforcement agencies;
assisting the investigation;
voluntary compensation for damage to victims.

In some cases, a person may be partially acquitted. These include driver conditions:

pregnancy;
minority;
severe mental trauma.

In what cases is it not provided?

There are situations in which the driver does not receive a penalty for leaving the scene of an accident:

Reaching mutual agreement between the participants in the incident. This is possible if there were no injured citizens as a result of the accident, and there are no disputes or disagreements between the drivers regarding what happened. If both conditions are met at the same time, the situation can be resolved without calling traffic police inspectors. To do this you need:

draw up a diagram of the incident;
sign the document drawn up;
send him to the nearest traffic police post.

Mutual decision to draw up a European protocol. It involves resolving the issue in the absence of law enforcement officers. It requires compliance with 4 conditions:

no more than two cars were involved in the accident;
the damage was caused only to the vehicle, there were no casualties;
both drivers have MTPL policies for the cars involved in the accident;
there is no disagreement between the participants regarding the event that occurred.

There are injured citizens to whom the driver must provide first aid. If it is necessary to transport the injured person to the hospital, he has every right to do so, but must return. In this case, there is no punishment for leaving the scene of an accident.

The need to clear the passage. If the vehicle is removed from the roadway, so as not to interfere with traffic, the driver must remain in place. Before clearing the road, the location of the vehicle should be documented. It is undesirable to move cars without eyewitnesses to the accident and if there are disputes between the participants regarding guilt.

In the listed cases, there is no liability for leaving the scene of an accident, since it is justified and legal.

Features of punishment

The specific punishment for leaving the scene of an accident is established by Article 12.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. The second part of the article fully reveals the driver’s responsibility:

Deprivation of a driver's license for one to one and a half years.
Administrative arrest for 15 days.

The law does not provide for a fine for leaving the scene of an accident.

For any reason, regardless of its validity, without documentary evidence, a person who has left has a high probability of:

become recognized as the culprit of an accident;
be brought to administrative responsibility for committing an offense;
receive an obligation to compensate for damage to someone else's property, causing moral harm or damage to human health.

If the driver fled the scene of the accident, the penalty can only be determined by the court. The basis for starting the trial is a protocol drawn up by a traffic police inspector. In addition to this document, the court uses evidentiary facts of the driver’s guilt. These can be:

testimony of eyewitnesses and witnesses;
video recordings obtained using traffic cameras and video recorders in cars.

In 95% of cases, investigators find the person who left the scene of the accident and must be punished.

Drivers are often interested in what the threat is if they fled the scene of an accident and drank alcohol. Taking alcoholic beverages, any psychotropic or narcotic drugs only aggravates the situation. It is quite difficult to prove that they were used after the incident. Despite the state of shock, it is better to avoid them before undergoing an examination. Otherwise, you will have to bear even greater responsibility, including for driving while intoxicated.

Sometimes liability for leaving the scene of an accident can be avoided. If a person has left and is hiding from the investigation, he can wait until the statute of limitations expires. According to the rules of Art. 4.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, the investigative authorities are given a three-month period to search for the guilty person and bring charges against him. At the end of it, filing any charges against the driver who left for leaving the scene of an accident without injuries and drawing up orders against him for committing an offense will be illegal.

So, the punishment for hiding a driver from the scene of an accident can be very serious. You won't be able to get away with paying a fine. It can only be obtained as an additional measure of punishment for aggravating the situation. If you had to leave for legal reasons, it is important to return and in the future have documentary evidence of the validity of your actions.